CT Derived Muscle Measures, Inflammation, and Frailty in a Cohort of Older Cancer Patients

BACKGROUND/AIM

Muscle loss, inflammation, and frailty are prevalent among older cancer patients. We aimed to evaluate whether inflammatory markers could identify muscle loss, and if muscle measures differed between frail and non-frail patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 115 patients ≥70 years old with solid tumors were included. Inflammation was measured using the Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), which is based on C-reactive protein (CRP) and albumin levels, and CRP alone. Frailty was evaluated using a modified geriatric assessment (mGA) of eight domains affecting older patients' health status. Computed tomography-derived muscle measures were collected at the level of the third lumbar vertebra.

RESULTS

Patients with GPS=2 and CRP>27 mg/l exhibited poorer muscle measures compared to patients with lower levels. No associations between mGA-based frailty and muscle mass were found.

CONCLUSION

Inflammation has detrimental effects on muscle mass. However, GPS or CRP alone cannot be used to identify muscle loss, and muscle measures were not associated with frailty in this series.

Randomized phase II trial comparing the efficacy of standard-dose with high-dose twice-daily thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) in limited disease small-cell lung cancer (LD SCLC)

9007

Background: Concurrent chemoradiotherapy is the standard treatment of LD SCLC. Some patients are cured, but most relapse and better treatment is needed. 45 Gy in 30 fractions BID is the most recommended TRT-schedule. Studies suggest that a higher TRT-dose might prolong survival, but hitherto, this has not been confirmed in randomized trials. We aimed to investigate whether high-dose BID TRT of 60 Gy in 40 fractions was feasible, tolerated, and improved survival. Methods: Patients > 18 years, performance status (PS) 0-2 and confirmed LD SCLC were to receive 4 courses of platinum/etoposide and were randomized to BID TRT of 60 or 45 Gy. Responders were offered prophylactic cranial irradiation of 25-30 Gy. Primary endpoint was 2-year survival; secondary endpoints were toxicity, progression free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). To demonstrate a 25% improvement of 2-year survival from 53% to 66% with a one-sided α = .10 and β = .80, 75 patients were required on each arm. Results: Between 2014-2018, 176 patients were enrolled at 22 Scandinavian hospitals. 160 completed TRT per protocol and were eligible for the present analyses (60 Gy: n = 84, 45 Gy: n = 76). Median age was 65, 58% women, 90% PS 0-1. There were no significant differences in grade 3–4 esophagitis (60 Gy: 19%, 45 Gy: 18%, p = .92) or grade 3–4 pneumonitis (60 Gy: 4%, 45 Gy: 0%, p = .10). There was a trend towards more neutropenic infections on the 45 Gy arm (60 Gy: 21%, 45 Gy: 36%, p = .05). There were no significant differences in other grade 3-4 toxicity. Three patients died during the study treatment period (60 Gy: one neutropenic infection and one aortic dissection; 45 Gy: one thrombocytopenic bleeding). There were no statistically significant differences in response rates (60 Gy: 88% [95% CI 81-95], 45 Gy: 85% [95% CI 76-93], p = .52) or median PFS (60 Gy: 20 months [95% CI 11-29], 45 Gy: 14 months [95% CI 10-19], p = .31). Significantly more patients on the 60 Gy arm were alive after 2 years (60 Gy: 73% [95% CI 63-83], 45 Gy: 46% [95% CI 36-60], p = .001), and they had a significantly longer median overall survival (60 Gy: 42 months [95% CI 32-51], 45 Gy: 23 months [95% CI 17-28], HR .63 [95% CI .41-.96], p = .031). Conclusions: LD SCLC patients who received BID TRT of 60 Gy had a statistically significant and numerically substantial benefit in terms of 2-year survival (primary endpoint) and median overall survival compared with those who received BID TRT of 45 Gy. The higher TRT dose did not cause more toxicity than the standard dose. Clinical trial information: NCT02041845.

Strategies for clinical implementation of TNM-Immunoscore in resected nonsmall-cell lung cancer

Immunoscore is a prognostic tool defined to quantify in situ immune cell infiltrates and appears highly promising as a supplement to the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) classification of various tumors. In colorectal cancer, an international task force has initiated prospective multicenter studies aiming to implement TNM-Immunoscore (TNM-I) in a routine clinical setting. In breast cancer, recommendations for the evaluation of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have been proposed by an international working group. Regardless of promising results, there are potential obstacles related to implementing TNM-I into the clinic. Diverse methods may be needed for different malignancies and even within each cancer entity. Nevertheless, a uniform approach across malignancies would be advantageous. In nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), there are several previous reports indicating an apparent prognostic importance of TILs, but studies on TILs in a TNM-I setting are sparse and no general recommendations are made. However, recently published data is promising, evoking a realistic hope of a clinical useful NSCLC TNM-I. This review will focus on the TNM-I potential in NSCLC and propose strategies for clinical implementation of a TNM-I in resected NSCLC.